Numerous recalls in the last year have reduced General Motors' profits, Bloomberg News reported.

GM said repair costs had helped cut first-quarter profit in North America by 18 percent to $451 million. The company added that it had allocated $1.48 billion to reserves for recall and warranty claims linked to sales and recalls.

GM has 46 percent of U.S. recalls so far this year, almost double its market share. It recalled 7.92 million cars and light trucks as of July 2, as compared to a total of 7.36 million recalled vehicles in all of 2003. GM recalled 3.66 million Silverado and other pickups in March, the largest total this year, to repair a tailgate chain that breaks.

"Are we concerned with the number of recalls? Absolutely," said Kevin Williams, GM's vice president of quality for North America. "We know it is not an out-of-control condition."

Big-Truck Sales Start to Slow

Some high-profit, full-size pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles are starting to fall out of favor, The Detroit News reported, citing industry analysts.

Hardest hit is General Motors, which saw sales of several full-size pickups and SUVs plunge in June compared with a year ago. Although sales of the GMC Sierra pickup inched up, Chevy's identical Silverado suffered an 8.1 percent drop in sales last month.